Two Penitential Psalms For Good Friday

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3v9unphfi0&fbclid=IwAR3Y19DivVzYzG7AE1KRVWR2AZBdszF6zP49HRrqRtyiQCw-Bj0_8V_547g

 

 

By Davis Carlton

For a long time I have deeply appreciated the significance of what is traditionally known as Holy Week, which spans from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. It always amazed me how quickly the crowds gathered in Jerusalem turned from proclaiming Jesus as the anointed Messiah come to save them to calling for his Crucifixion within less than one week. Lately I’ve been struggling to overcome a melancholy sense that I’m witnessing the final stages of the collapse of Western Civilization. The fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris this Monday only reinforced these feelings of helplessness in the face of overwhelming opposition. I’ve known for a long time that true Christian values have long since departed from America and other countries of the West. The magnificent churches and other works of art produced by white Christians have only served to testify of what was once held dear by our ancestors. Now even these reminders seem to be vanishing amidst the dual onslaught of secularism and false religions. It’s all quite depressing to ruminate upon.

I’ve found the Psalms to be a source of comfort in these dark days. One that has become a favorite is Psalm 77, one of the psalms of Asaph. This particular psalm is fairly typical of Asaph in that he often seems vexed by the seeming prosperity of the wicked and the plight of the righteous Israelites who suffer at their hands. Asaph is prone to complaints against God for forgetting to be merciful to His people. While Asaph’s protests might strike some as whining or impious I find his candor refreshing. Asaph addresses God as a son might address his father in complaining about the harshness of the punishment that he has received. The sentiments of Asaph reflect how I often feel about God’s judgment upon whites. Asaph asks, “Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?” (vv. 7-9).

It’s as though Asaph could have written this about the plight of whites today. If things continue on their current trajectory we will be essentially wiped out of history and the memory of our ancestors and the things that God has done through them will be lost forever. In many cases non-white Christians don’t mourn for us, but openly cheer our destruction as God’s righteous judgment on us for our ancestors’ “colonialism,” “oppression,” and “racism.” Is this really the end? Is our demise really inevitable? Will the false beliefs of our enemies regarding justice and equality really seem to triumph in history with our expiration? These are questions that have been weighing heavily on my mind.

These are questions that I believe any honest white Christian who takes the Fifth Commandment seriously must ask, but this is where our thoughts ought to begin; not end. It is only natural to question God’s mercy and justice in the severity of His punishments, but we must absolutely never forget that God is just, and like Job, we have no right to question God’s actions in His creation. The clay has no right to complain to the potter (Rom. 9:20). I struggle to maintain this perspective, but I take recourse in knowing that God is just. God’s ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8), but this doesn’t mean that we are left helpless in the hands of a celestial sadist. “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” (Ps. 145:17). The Judge of the earth will do right (Gen. 18:25).

Asaph also provides a timely remedy to his own self-pity that has also given me comfort in the midst of my mental unrest. “I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people. Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph.” (vv. 11-15). Asaph recalls God’s works and rightly deduces that God has not done wondrous things for his people in vain. God has not done wonderful things through the peoples of Europe only to cast us off in anger. God is certainly justified in His anger against our people for our apostasy and constant blasphemy, but this does not mean that we are to be utterly destroyed without a future.

Like the Israelites of old, I believe that God will preserve a faithful remnant who will be restored to our proper inheritance (Is. 1:9). It is incumbent on us to inculcate our children with the faith of our Christian ancestors and encourage national repentance for the many sins that we have committed that have incurred God’s just wrath. This has led me to ponder the beauty of Psalm 51; David’s psalm of repentance after his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. David has been called out for his sin by the prophet Nathan and David responds with genuine contrition. David acknowledges that only God can forgive his sin and asks God to effectually restore their fellowship that has been broken through David’s selfish act. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” (vv. 10-12).

David’s act of humility contrasts with the false repentance for contrived sins that is so common among Christians today who seek to distance themselves from their white ancestors while at the same time contrasting with secular or pagan white nationalism that believes that whites have no need of repentance. We have violated God’s commandments. It isn’t for nothing that we are experiencing the fierceness of God’s wrath. This Good Friday is an excellent opportunity to ask God for forgiveness for our own personal sins and to ask God to forgive our nations for our persistent rebellion.

I love Gregorio Allegri’s rendition of Psalm 51 in Latin, Miserere mei, Deus. The piece is an excellent example of Renaissance polyphony and was traditionally used in the Sistine Chapel on Good Friday. The exact ornamentation remained secret and exclusively for the use of the Sistine Chapel until a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (at the age of 14!) was able to record the piece from memory after hearing it performed during a visit to Rome. This particular performance recorded from a church in London is particularly poignant. This beautiful church provides an excellent venue for European vocalists to sing for God’s forgiveness. Pews are absent which gives the impression (at least in this video) that the church building has been abandoned as a relic of the past in a land where Christian faith is dying. Nevertheless the building is in good repair, suggesting that the beauty and truth of the Faith are no less strong. The whole video evokes an aura of hope rather than despair.

I believe that God in His compassion will remove our people’s hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh (Eze. 36:27, 37:14). My mind is called to remember the words of Christ, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33). This Easter Sunday I will celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord, the hope of eternal life that it promises to those who trust in Him, and anticipate the day when our people will be awoken from their spiritual slumber and be restored by a God of mercy and forgiveness.